There are tones of stories out there about wrestlers and other athletes not getting along and taking shots at each other outside of the ring or field of play. So it’s not a surprise that tempers boiled over between Road Warrior Hawk and 2 Cool Scorpio when they were in North Korea.
It was an intense real life feud that was explained by 2 Cool Scorpio on Dark Side of the Ring episode “Collision in Korea”.
What started as an event to promote peace and further the political career of Antonio Inoki was anything but, and it ended up being the most watched wrestling event in history (roughly 200K in attendance) an insight into life in a communist county.
Fighting over Ric Flair
The dustup between Hawk and Scorpio began when Hawk defended Ric Flair.
As Scorpio told it, Flair had wronged him about seven years earlier and had a hand in getting Scorpio fired from WCW.
It was something that Scorpio held onto all those years, and it came to a head when Hawk decided to ride with him and some others after he and Flair rode together after arriving in North Korea.
Reportedly, Flair came out looking for someone, and when Hawk mentioned he may be looking for him to ride with, Scorpio told him, “F— that pu—. Let him ride by himself.”
Hawk took exception to that as he and Flair went back years at this point and Hawk allegedly responded with the n-word.
That set Scorpio off and his blows landed while Hawk’s didn’t before the other wrestlers pulled them apart.
It’s nothing new that people will stand with those they knew for longer or better, and this was no different.
As these things tend to do, it didn’t end there as when Scorpio tried to make peace, Hawk hit him with a sucker punch but Scorpio stayed on his feet.
Once again, they were pulled apart by other wrestlers before anything could be settled.
Ending the hostilities
At the final ceremonial dinner before they left, Scorpio swiped two stainless steel chopsticks, then sharpened them on the concrete windowsill in his room.
Chris Benoit, his roommate, talked him down by pointing out if he killed Hawk there, then he’d be in a North Korea prison for the rest of his life.
So, Scorpio decided against killing Hawk, but when the two met in an elevator he was ready to act if Hawk went after him again.
After a while of silence, Hawk apologized to him, saying he’s out of pills, steroids, and smoke and his nerves got the better of him.
Scorpio accepted his apology and offered to finish any problems they still had in Tokyo but it was over.
While Scorpio went on about how he took Hawk’s best shots and beat him, Scott Norton, a long time friend of Hawk, pointed out that Hawk wasn’t in the best of health at that time.
Hawk was dealing with hepatitis C and the medicine he was taking make one very ill. From Norton: “Scorp can think what he wants, but he regular Mike (Hawk) woulda killed his a–.”
Hawk had a reputation as one of the toughest fighters around, so there’s some weight to be given to Norton’s statement, but Scorpio’s no slouch and can hold his own.
At the end of the day, the show went on and this is just one of several stories that have been shared about the event held in North Korea and it’s one to remember.
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